


why cook when you can steal?

by castielanderson



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Multi, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-09 12:48:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4349390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castielanderson/pseuds/castielanderson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Billy comes down with a respiratory infection, and Loki uses his thievery skills for good.</p>
            </blockquote>





	why cook when you can steal?

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently my go-to plot when writing new pairings is sickfic.

It's storming outside; that's the only thing Billy can register when he wakes, groggy and weighed down with mucus.  The thunder shudders the whole residence hall, and leaves a ringing in his blocked ears.  He gives his eyes a squeeze, trying to ease some of the pressure in his head.  It feels like his brain must be overflowing.

Billy's comforter is like weights on his aching chest, and it takes several attempts before he can push them off enough to sit up.  His breath is labored and he's slightly dizzy when he collapses against the headboard.  His eyes dart around, and he realizes he's alone.  When he fell asleep, Teddy was in his bed, eyes continuously glancing at Billy, and Loki had left for a supply run.  He looks over at his alarm clock to see that he's only been asleep for roughly a half hour.  With a groan, he slides down his pillows - which is probably bad for his cough, but he can't sleep sitting up either, so he'll just have to rely on the cough syrup.

It always amazes Billy, how fast he gets sick.  He was fine this morning, nothing more than the sniffles, but by noon he was doubled over with crippling coughs and chest pain.  As soon as his boyfriends took a look at him during lunch, he was marched back to their dorm and promptly put to bed.

Now his head is spinning and the fever makes him feel like he's being baked in a microwave oven, his bones still frozen, but his skin piping hot.  He's filled with aches and he has no idea how he's still breathing with his sinuses this plugged and his throat so swollen.  God, he feels like death would be kinder.

Somehow, he's managed to doze off again when the door opening wakes him up.  The rickety lock cracks open, and the door creaks as it's pushed.  Both Teddy and Loki trudge inside, looking straight to Billy before doing anything else.  Teddy tosses the grocery bag in his hand onto Billy's desk and steps up beside the bed.

"Hey, Bee," he says softly, smoothing the hair back from Billy's sweltering forehead.  "How you feeling, honey?"

Billy just grunts.

"That bad?" Teddy asks.

Billy rolls over and shoves his face into his pillow.  Even that small force of sound hurt his throat.  He's not usually one to complain when he's sick.  In fact, he prefers to just power things through, but this flu or bronchitis or pneumonia - whatever it is, it's kicking his ass, and he knows that sometime over the next few days he's going to have to drag his ass to Health and Wellness, and he dreads it.  He really doesn't want to leave his bed.  If he can muster up the energy, he might just teleport there.  Fuck walking. 

"Teddy," comes Loki's voice.

"Hmm?"

"Check his temperature."

"Right," Teddy replies and goes to dig into the grocery bag.  Earlier in the day, both Loki and Billy had tried to magically read his temperature, but Billy was too exhausted, and Loki always overcomplicates things, so they figured that while they were going to need more cough syrup, nighttime cold medicine, cough drops, tissues, and just about everything else a sick person needs which they don't have, it would be good to put a thermometer on that list.

Billy forces himself to sit up again, but it's more like he's awkwardly hunched upward.  He lets Teddy put the thermometer in his mouth, and waits patiently while Teddy unloads the contents of the bag.  In addition to all the medicine and tissues, Loki got him losanges, apple juice, ginger ale, saltines, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, and a new water bottle "so his water doesn't go stale."

"Oh my god," Billy croaks, after Teddy pulls the thermometer out..  "You really went all out, Lokes."

"Almost one-oh-two," Teddy reports.  He bites his lip and looks at Billy with worry.

Loki shoves past him and places a kiss on Billy's forehead.  "Only the best for you.  And I got one more thing."  He reaches into another bag and pulls out a huge Tupperware full of soup.

"Did you make that?" Billy asks, surprised.  He didn't thing Loki would have had the time.  And the kitchenette on their floor kind of sucks ass.

"Of course not," Loki laughs.  "Lucky for us, the caf was serving chicken noodle soup today.  It's flu season - I think they know.  When the staff wasn't looking, I ladled a bunch of it into this huge dish."

Billy smiles.  "Oh man, you know I love the caf's soup."

"Do you want it right now?" Loki asks.  "How's your stomach?"

"It's fine," Billy promises.  "I would love some right now."

"Perfect," Loki says.  "But first you should take some Advil to bring that fever down.  I don't like how high it is."

Billy dutifully swallows the pills Teddy pours into his hand.  He struggles to sit upright, but when he's finally situated, all discomfort is pushed on the backburner as Loki hands him Tupperware full of soup.  He tries to smell it before he remembers his sinuses are completely blocked.

"Do you want me to spoon-feed you?" Teddy asks sarcastically as he plucks silverware from the shelf between his and Billy's bed.

"Yeah, not while I still have use of my motor skills."  He accepts the spoon from Teddy and digs in with haste.  After the first bite, the noise that comes from his throat is something far too close to a sexual moan.

Loki stares at him.  "Find your chill, Kaplan."

"Honestly, I can barely taste it," Billy admits.  "I just know that it tastes good."

Loki rolls his eyes, but Teddy smiles like an idiot.

Billy doesn't get in more than ten bites before he's full/nauseous/a  little bit of both.  He hands the container off and snuggles greedily back into his blankets.  It's not even that late - in fact, his alarm clock tells him it's not even six o'clock yet, but he's entirely exhausted.  He yawns something fierce, and Teddy rubs his leg over the blanket.  He hasn't moved much since he and Loki got back, just stayed at the end of Billy's bed.

"You guys gonna do homework and stuff?" Billy murmurs.

Teddy nods.  "I've got a Spanish test tomorrow."

"Shit that's right," Billy says.  "I'm sorry I wasted part of your day."

"Shhh," Teddy reprimands.  "You're sick, Billy, and I'm your boyfriend.  Boyfriends take care of each other when they're sick."

"That may be true," Loki says, stepping up behind him.  Billy doesn't know what Loki's been doing.  He hasn't really been paying much attention to anything besides the food and his headache and sleep now.  Sleep is priority number one.  "However, I do not have a test tomorrow.  So why don't you let me take over Billy duty, and you study."

Teddy sighs as he stands up, and Loki shushes him with a kiss.

Billy rolls onto his side and curls up tighter, allowing Loki more room at the end of his bed.

"What are you gonna do?" Billy asks.

Loki holds up his neuroscience textbook.  "I have three chapters to read."

"Oh, man," Billy groans, and it suddenly hits him that he'll have to miss class tomorrow.  Calculus, Eastern Lit, and Acting Theory.  "I'm not going to class tomorrow, am I?"

"Definitely not," Loki replies.

"I have  to - I have to e-mail my professors," he mumbles, but his eyelids are slipping shut.

"Don't worry," Loki says, complete with a leg pat.  "I'll take care of it, Bee."

"Promise?" Billy asks.

"Promise."

And with that, Billy promptly drifts off to sleep.

_

He doesn't know if he expects himself to sleep through the night or just a few hours, but what really happens is somewhere in between.  He wakes up to quiet.  Only the sound of the fan and his own labored breathing reach his ears.  The overhead light is off, but Loki's bedside table lamp is on.  Between them, Teddy is asleep in his own bed.

"Loki?" Billy croaks.

His head whips up from his textbook, eyes growing with concern.

"Yes, Billy?"

A coughing fit overtakes him before he manages to choke out, "What time is it?"

"Almost eleven-thirty," Loki replies.  He closes his textbook with care and hops off his bed.

Billy rubs at his eyes.  "Damn.  I was asleep for awhile."

"A good almost six hours," Loki confirms.  "Speaking of which - you could stand to take another dose of Advil."  He steps up beside Billy's bed and feels his forehead to check for fever before handing him another couple of pills.  "Are you going to go back to sleep, or are you awake now?"

"Awake," Billy sighs.

"Would you like me to grab your laptop for you?" Loki offers.

"Yes, please," Billy says.

Loki crosses the room and grabs both Billy's laptop and his charger for him.  He sets the laptop in Billy's lap and then carefully plugs in the charger to the outlet underneath Billy's bed.

"There you go," he says, popping up from the floor.  "You should be all set."

"Thank you, Lokes," Billy mutters.

Loki replies by kissing him softly on the forehead.  "I'm going to be heading to bed soon, but don't  be afraid to wake me up if you need anything."

Billy just hums in return.  He doesn't think he'll be up all night, but there's no way he could just fall back asleep.  Especially not with the pounding headache that's settled behind his eyes or the constant, burning itch in his throat.  He'll have to wait for the Advil to kick in before sleep even becomes an option again.

In the end, he watches an episode and a half of _Bob's Burgers_ before he's snoozing.  This time, he does sleep through the night, save for a half hour around seven in the morning.  Both Teddy and Loki have eight AM's so they're up and getting ready at that time.  Billy thinks they both slip him a kiss before they leave, but he can't really remember.

He sleeps a few more hours and gets up around eleven.  However, he doesn't feel rested whatsoever.  He lies in bed for a solid half-hour, debating whether or not to go back to sleep or stay awake.  Eventually, his bladder decides for him and he gets up to use the bathroom.  Getting up is a task.  He has to get out from under three blankets and a comforter, pull his sweatshirt on because he's _freezing_ , slip his feet into slippers, and then walk down the hall to the bathroom.  He has to sit and its super disorienting, but he would also prefer not to pass out while he's pissing.

Once back in his dorm, he has to come up with something to do.  Easily, that involves his laptop.  He checks his e-mail first.  In his outbox, he finds that Loki had indeed sent e-mails to his professors, telling him that he was very ill today, and would not be making it to class.  Two of his professors have already sent back amended assignments and well wishes.  He's just waiting on the third - which, being that it was his acting professor, wasn't a big worry.  They were working on comedic scenes this week.  He would just have to get together with his group outside of class time, which they already did.

After checking his e-mail, he browses socially media for awhile.  He finds new pictures of Kate on Instragram, new messages from his mother on Facebook, and a bunch of stuff on Twitter and Tumblr that he can't get up the energy to care about.

This all kills a solid fifteen minutes.

On a daring note, he decides to attempt some homework.  He grabs his backpack from the floor and dumps out its contents onto his lap.  This doesn't last very long.  Reading just worsens his headache, and he can't even begin to comprehend calc.   Finally, he surrenders and goes back to marathoning _Bob's Burgers._

_

A little after one, both Teddy and Loki come back to the room, lunch in hand.

Teddy offers him an Italian sub from the deli down the block, but Billy refuses.  His stomach has been consistently upset today. Loki frowns at this, and once again, moves forehead to feel Billy's forehead.

"Have you taken any more Advil?" he asks as he pulls away.

"Oh - shit, no - "

"It's okay," Loki says, rustling away at the flu kit that sprawled across Billy's nightstand.  "I want to check your temperature without it anyway."  He finds the thermometer and holds it above Billy's mouth until he opens it.  When it beeps, the look on Loki's face is very discouraging.  "One-oh-two-seven," he reports, glancing back at Teddy.  "Billy, if it gets any higher, we're taking you to the Wellness Center."

Bill groans.  "So much movement."

"Well, take some more Advil and hope it works this time."

Loki has another class this afternoon, but Teddy doesn't, so he opts for staying with Billy.  Once Loki's off, Teddy tries to snuggle into bed next to him, but the twin bed really doesn't allow for it.  In a stroke of genius, Teddy decides they'll have to rearrange the furniture.  He pushes all three nightstands to the opposite side of the room, and with his freaking Hulk strength, shoves all the beds together.

"There," he says, hopping into his own, "this is much better."

He snuggles against Billy, and they remain that way until Loki returns from class.  He steps one foot into the room, realizes the difference, and then just stares at them blankly.

"Hey, " Teddy deadpans.

Loki drops his bag to the floor.  "Honestly, I'm just pissed I didn't think of this first," he says before jumping into the three-count bed next to Teddy.  He props his head up on Teddy's shoulder to look at Billy.  "How you feeling, Bills?"

Billy just groans.  The Advil doesn't really feel like it did anything, but he's not sure he wants to admit it.  His boyfriends are already worried about him.  He's just really, really achey and tired.  His throat kills, and his brain is pulsing hard against his skull.  He feels like death.

"You hungry?" Loki asks.  "It's almost dinner time, right?"

"It's like four, Loki," Teddy scoffs.

"Close enough."

"I don't know," Billy grumbles.  "I still feel pukey."

"You have to eat something," Loki encourages.  "You haven't eaten since last night, Billy."

"Can we start with crackers?" Billy asks.

"Of course," Loki replies, and he jumps out of bed.  He pulls saltines off the shelf and hands them to Billy, who takes them out carefully and begins to nibble on them.  "I'll go get some real food from the caf for us, Teddy.  What do you want?"

"Get me a cold sandwhich and pasta salad.  I'll save it for later."

"Got it.  I'll be back," Loki promises before heading out the door.

"Billy?" Teddy asks, nudging him.

"Hmmm?" Billy asks.  He's starting to feel tired again.

"Are you okay?"

Billy shrugs.  "I just  . . I really don't feel well."

Teddy frowns and scoots the slightest bit closer to him.  He presses a gentle kiss to Billy's too-hot cheek.  "I'm gonna fill you up a water bottle.  Drink that up and eat a few more crackers and then you can sleep.  I'll wake you up in a couple hours when it's time to take more Advil."

Billy drinks the water as fast as he can without puking and eats five more crackers before his eyelids are begging to shut.  He puts the bottle on the bed next to him and lets himself slip into unconsciousness.

_

He's prepared to sleep for a long, long time, maybe even through the night, but that doesn't happen.   His cough grows worse quickly, and he wakes himself up several times throughout the evening.  The first time he wakes, Loki stacks his pillows and orders him to sleep sitting slightly up. 

"It'll ease the pressure on your lungs."

The next time, Teddy and Loki give him Advil and a strong dose of cough syrup as well as NyQuil.

The third time, both of them are asleep, and Billy lies awake in agony for approximately an hour.  His coughs are dry and painful, yielding no relief for his lungs and tearing at his throat.  The more he coughs the more his chest hurts, and the more his chest hurts, the more he coughs.  It's a horrible cycle and apparently not even the cough syrup will break it.

He eventually falls back asleep, but he remembers it more as a haze.  As he keeps waking up, things become less clear.  He thrashes around the bed, hurting, hurting everywhere, but the fire feels strongest in his chest.  Loki and Teddy are there.  One, then the other, sometimes both.  More medicine gets spoon-fed to him, but it never seems to do anything.  He's sweaty, he's so sweaty.  Wet.  Floating.  But he's cold.  The water is freezing.  He wants the covers back, but he's being dragged away from them.

"Billy? Billy?"

He moans.

"Billy, hey - are you with me?"

It's Teddy.  Teddy with an arm wrapped around his shoulder.  He's sitting up in bed, and the covers are off.  Loki is attempting to put sneakers on his feet.

"What's - what's going on?" Billy asks.

"It's early in the morning.  We're taking you to the Wellness Center.  You've been up all night coughing, and your fever's spiked.  It's over one-oh-three."

"Can I take a blanket?" Billy  asks.  He's already in a heavy sweatshirt and his windbreaker, but he really wants a blanket.

"Yes," Teddy says, and he pulls one of the lighter blankets off the bed.  "Yes, you can have this blanket, Billy."  He wraps it around Billy's shoulders, and Billy accepts it eagerly.

Loki finishes putting his shoes on, and he and Teddy hoist Billy up, out of bed.  He's unstable on his feet, and both of them let him lean against them.

"Easy.  Easy, Billy."

He's so dizzy.  Everything is weird.  He's too hot, but he's too cold, too.  And he _hurts_.  Everything hurts.

He doesn't really remember the walk across campus, but he is more than happy when they enter the building and Teddy leads him to sit in a chair in the waiting room.  He's so tired, and his legs don't want to walk anymore.

He can hear Loki at the desk, so far away.

"Billy Kaplan?  That's K - A - P - L - A - N.  He's been sick the past couple of days, and his fever's gotten pretty high."

"Alright, I've got his file up.  I'll have our campus doctor come and get you in a minute or so."

"Thank you."

Billy blinks, and then he's moving again, shuffling into another room with a bed and a couple of chairs and a computer.  Teddy sets him down on the bed, and keeps a hand on his shoulder.

"Stay awake, Bee."

"I'm trying," he argues.  He's not.

The nurse asks Loki a lot of questions, mainly about the past couple of days and the things he's noticed with Billy.  Then she turns to him.

"Just a couple of general things as I look at your file, Billy.  You're still on fluoxetine, yes?"

"Yes," Billy answers, although he doesn't think he's taken it in the past couple of days.

"No new allergies to medication that you know of?"

"No."

"Good, because I'm going to be prescribing you antibiotics.  It looks like you've got pneumonia.  You'll be on bed rest for at least the rest of this week - and I'll e-mail your professors.  Do you still use the CVS three blocks down?"

"Yeah," Billy replies.

"Good, good, then you should be able to get the antibiotics today.  And drink fluids, rest as much as you can.  Shower - get some steam in your lungs.  Your cough is very dry.  If you want, you can check out a humidifier or a nebulizer from the wellness center, but I'll leave that up to you."

Loki opts for a small humidifier.  He plugs it in as soon as they get back to the dorm.  Billy, now awake, showers with Teddy's assistance, and once they're done, it takes Loki twenty minutes to return with Billy's antibiotics.  He takes one, along with more Advil and cough syrup before snuggling back under the covers.  Teddy joins him, and Loki joins them.

As Billy's drifting, he murmurs.  "Thank you guys for taking care of me.  I love you."

"We love you too, Billy," Loki says, and Teddy gives him a kiss on the forehead.

"Sleep well, Bee."


End file.
